Published: Thursday, July 18, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, July 16, 2013 at 11:30 a.m.

A common mantra in green circles is “Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!” “Reduce” and “recycle” are pretty clear, but “reuse” often can be a bit more complicated.

Facts

"In Another Life"

When: Opens today, closes Sept. 6New gallery hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through FridayWhere: Webber Center gallery, College of Central Florida, 3001 SW College Road. The gallery is on the north side of campus, off Southwest 20th Street.Cost: FreeInfo: 873-5800 or www.cf.edu

Why not just throw it away and get something new, some ask, while others reply, “Why not put a tired, worn-out, no-longer-usable item to another use, perhaps one never intended?”

“In Another Life,” an exhibit opening today at the College of Central Florida's Webber Center gallery, does exactly that. Curated by CF and University of Florida instructor Charlie Cummings, the display features about two dozen artistic treasures crafted from others' trash. The exhibit runs through Sept. 6.

And where there's typically an opening reception, this exhibit will hold a closing reception between 4 and 6 p.m. on Aug. 29 at the gallery because the college is currently in its sparsely attended Summer B Session right now.

“The reception will feature a performance piece by Juan Griego,” said Michele Faulconer, gallery director. Griego is one of the artists featured in the display.

The artists, many of them art instructors or fine arts graduate students at UF, have repurposed “objects from daily life as raw material for creating their artwork,” according to a CF release. What once was, say, a serving spoon now might be a piece on a lizard sculpture.

“We spend our time surrounded by man-made objects that become background noise to our daily lives. Upon thoughtful examination we can find a wealth of social meaning and history in any given item,” Cummings noted in the statement. “The artworks in ‘In Another Life' harness the innate concepts associated with everyday items and bring them to our attention by presenting them as sculptures.”

Some of the messages, however, are rather obscure. For instance, the “installation art” titled “Inside/Outside: Substantial Equivalence” by Giang Lien Pham. This is, essentially, two squares side-by-side on the floor; one is a month's worth of rice, the other nine dollars in pennies.

In describing the piece in her artist statement, Pham noted the “consumables in our daily life” are “subjected to market rates.” She hopes those viewing it “to consider his or her role as a consuming machine and redesign it by using the Socratic method. The individual can reconsider the objects of everyday life through simple questions that resituate worth and value of each object.”

Others works are a bit clearer: a replica of a pelican crafted from a motorcycle gas tank; a crab created from old spoons, pliers and bolts; a series of wall tiles crafted from scrap metal, old ceramics and jewelry; deep-sea fish that once were forks and a chainsaw chain.

Jonathan Whitfill's wall sculptures crafted from thrown-away books are among the more intriguing pieces.

“Constructed from discarded encyclopedias, dictionaries and paperback novels, these … sculptures pay homage to a rapidly diminishing delivery item of knowledge while stimulating concepts of longevity and beauty albeit in an altered state,” he noted in his artist statement.

“Anything can end up on the wall as a piece of art,” Faulconer said. “This allows the artists a whole new wealth of materials to work with.”

She said she's especially excited by the performance pieces and the installation art in this display; “we've never had those before.”

“This stuff would be in a landfill,” Faulconer added. “Now it's a piece of art. Some will definitely make you think.”

<p>A common mantra in green circles is “Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!” “Reduce” and “recycle” are pretty clear, but “reuse” often can be a bit more complicated.</p><p>Why not just throw it away and get something new, some ask, while others reply, “Why not put a tired, worn-out, no-longer-usable item to another use, perhaps one never intended?”</p><p>“In Another Life,” an exhibit opening today at the College of Central Florida's Webber Center gallery, does exactly that. Curated by CF and University of Florida instructor Charlie Cummings, the display features about two dozen artistic treasures crafted from others' trash. The exhibit runs through Sept. 6. </p><p>And where there's typically an opening reception, this exhibit will hold a closing reception between 4 and 6 p.m. on Aug. 29 at the gallery because the college is currently in its sparsely attended Summer B Session right now.</p><p>“The reception will feature a performance piece by Juan Griego,” said Michele Faulconer, gallery director. Griego is one of the artists featured in the display.</p><p>The artists, many of them art instructors or fine arts graduate students at UF, have repurposed “objects from daily life as raw material for creating their artwork,” according to a CF release. What once was, say, a serving spoon now might be a piece on a lizard sculpture.</p><p>“We spend our time surrounded by man-made objects that become background noise to our daily lives. Upon thoughtful examination we can find a wealth of social meaning and history in any given item,” Cummings noted in the statement. “The artworks in 'In Another Life' harness the innate concepts associated with everyday items and bring them to our attention by presenting them as sculptures.”</p><p>Some of the messages, however, are rather obscure. For instance, the “installation art” titled “Inside/Outside: Substantial Equivalence” by Giang Lien Pham. This is, essentially, two squares side-by-side on the floor; one is a month's worth of rice, the other nine dollars in pennies.</p><p>In describing the piece in her artist statement, Pham noted the “consumables in our daily life” are “subjected to market rates.” She hopes those viewing it “to consider his or her role as a consuming machine and redesign it by using the Socratic method. The individual can reconsider the objects of everyday life through simple questions that resituate worth and value of each object.”</p><p>Others works are a bit clearer: a replica of a pelican crafted from a motorcycle gas tank; a crab created from old spoons, pliers and bolts; a series of wall tiles crafted from scrap metal, old ceramics and jewelry; deep-sea fish that once were forks and a chainsaw chain.</p><p>Jonathan Whitfill's wall sculptures crafted from thrown-away books are among the more intriguing pieces.</p><p>“Constructed from discarded encyclopedias, dictionaries and paperback novels, these … sculptures pay homage to a rapidly diminishing delivery item of knowledge while stimulating concepts of longevity and beauty albeit in an altered state,” he noted in his artist statement.</p><p>“Anything can end up on the wall as a piece of art,” Faulconer said. “This allows the artists a whole new wealth of materials to work with.”</p><p>She said she's especially excited by the performance pieces and the installation art in this display; “we've never had those before.”</p><p>“This stuff would be in a landfill,” Faulconer added. “Now it's a piece of art. Some will definitely make you think.”</p><p><i>Contact Rick Allen at rick.allen@starbanner.com or 867-4154.</i></p>